


The Last Jedi - a remaking

by may_i_have_this_wish



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (i don't have any free time), F/M, M/M, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi - Freeform, because i have so much goddamn free time, rewriting the sequel trilogy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14002560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/may_i_have_this_wish/pseuds/may_i_have_this_wish
Summary: Like many others out there, I enjoyed parts of the TLJ. And, like many others out there, I did not care for parts. This is my take on the story, beginning with some changes in the Force Awakens.All the characters remain, although their stories are altered.In which Han Solo does not die, the Force is explored, Luke is less of an ass, and Kylo Ren is redeemable.





	The Last Jedi - a remaking

A/N I had a lot of problems with The Last Jedi and wanted to rewrite it, but in order to do that, I had to change some things in the Force Awakens. I meant to only do maybe one or two scenes but instead, I got carried away and did half the movie. I’m not planning on writing the last Jedi in the same style, this kind of just happened

 

Maz knows. Maz always knows.  
…

Kylo Ren can feel her. A pulsing beacon of energy, coiled and ready to spring. He can taste her fear in the air and feel the fight in her muscles. She reminds him of a cornered animal. 

…

As soon as the saber is in Finn’s hand he feels it humming. He wonders if anyone could feel that, but he shakes it off and runs because Rey needs his help. This was all his fault for leaving, this was all his fault. 

He knows the Stormtrooper with the mace and his scream of Traitor shakes Finn down to his core. The word slides into his chest and tries to strangle him. But staring at that mask, he remembers the way that Rey looked at him, and Finn charges. 

… 

Han sees Finn go down and panic strikes him. Already he’s attached to these damn kids. It’s Luke all over again. A single shot from his blaster and the trooper falls. 

“You okay Mr. Big Deal?” he asks, and his tone is gruff because he’s starting to believe that this kid could be a big deal. He doesn’t know much, but he knows that a saber is a Jedi’s weapon and not just anyone can wield it. His mind is dragged towards Ben, little Ben building his first saber and being so so proud--but he tears himself away because he can’t think about that now. 

And then they’re captured and it’s not the first time he’s been marched at gunpoint and he knows it won’t be the last. It’s just like the old days, he muses. Two punk kids dragging him and Chewie into the good fight. He’s calm. Calmer than he should be. Because sometimes you can’t escape your past and sometimes you don’t want to. 

“Whoo! That’s one helluva pilot!” Finn yells. 

The X-Wings show up right on time, and there’s only a split second when he squints up into a cockpit and expects to see Luke. 

… 

His voice is cool and calm as he looks at the girl, frozen in his grasp. Even with the fear overtaking her he could see the fight in her eyes. He knew if he released her from his force grip she would attack him by any means necessary. Rip him apart with her teeth if she had to. He’s fascinated, and beyond that, she’s seen the map. This tiny spec of nothing has stumbled across what he’s been searching for for years. She found the map, the Falcon...and he had heard the roar of a Wookie in the distance and that could only mean one thing. How, in such a short time, had she managed to collect so many pieces of his past? 

“Pull the division out. We have what we need.”

…

Han turns and sees his son. There is nothing but white noise. There is no battle around him. There is only his son. And in his son’s arms is the girl he had brought to this place. She was his responsibility. Ben was his responsibility too. 

“NO! REY!” Somebody is shouting but Han cannot hear them. 

He watches Finn run after the ship, even after it has taken off. The only thing that stops him from doing the same is Chewie’s hand on his shoulder. 

… 

Finn holds the blaster limply in one hand, chest heaving as he watches the ship take off. Rey is gone. He turns, storming back to Han. 

“They took her! Did you see that? They took Rey!” and it was all his fault. She only ran because he was going to leave and it was all his fault. Han is looking after the ship. He looks haunted. 

“She’s gone!” Finn repeats desperately, looking for some answer in the war hero’s face.

“Yeah... yeah, I know…” Han’s voice is a murmur. Finn isn’t sure if he’s talking about Rey. 

… 

There’s a turn in the air, and Han might be as force sensitive as a doorknob, but she is unmistakable. He and Chewie make their way to the Resistance Transport that has just landed. There’s a lump in his throat that he can’t seem to swallow, and he knows exactly what’s going to happen. The doors open and there she is. Standing in smoke and embers and looking right at home in the midst of a battle there is Leia. 

And there’s that blasted droid.

… 

“You changed your hair,” Han comments, and Leia wants to laugh and cry and put her head in her hands all at the same time. 

“Same jacket,” her tone is wry and through all the pain she can’t deny she’s happy to see him. 

“No, new jacket,” he sounds offended and her lips twist just the slightest. 

Chewie gives a long howl and pulls her into a tight hug. The tension hasn’t really left her shoulders at any point in her life, but it does lessen in this moment. Chewie boards the ship, and she and Han are left alone once more. There is something in Han’s face that scares her. He opens his mouth and closes it again, and she watches with a critical eye. 

“...I saw him, Leia. I saw our son. He was here.” 

She doesn’t react. She knew their son was there. She could feel him, an angry and writhing dark spot in the force. She can always sense him, no matter how far he goes. 

A mother always knows. 

“I know,” she replies. 

… 

Finn has no idea who the woman standing in the middle of the chaos is, but if she can help Rey she’s fine by Finn. 

“General Organa, sorry to interrupt, but this is Finn, he needs to talk to you--”

Finn almost chokes on his own spit at the name Organa. This was Princess, Senator, General Leia Organa. 

Leia took his hand in a firm shake, “And I need to talk to him. That was incredibly brave, what you did. Renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life --”

Princess, Senator, General Leia Organa knows who he is, but despite the shock, he still cuts her off. 

“Thank you, ma'am -- but a friend of mine was taken prisoner-- 

“Han told me about the girl, I'm sorry,” she shakes her head and looks down. She seemed genuinely sorry. 

“General, Finn is familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian system. He worked on the base. 

… 

Leia looked at the young man, slightly shocked. She could feel the force in him. Suppressed, but there. And growing. She saw the lightsaber hanging from his belt and she knew she would have to take another leap of faith on another stranger.

“We’re desperate for anything you can tell us.”

“That’s where my friend was taken--I’ve got to get there fast.”

“And I will do everything I can to help, but first you must tell us all you know.”

… 

Han follows his wife desperately, “Listen to me, will you? I know every time you... every time you look at me, you're reminded of him.”

Leia turns and looks up at him. Her eyes are wet but no tears escape. “You think I want to forget him? I want him back!” 

“There was nothing we could've done. There was too much Vader in him.” Han desperately wants to believe his own words. To believe anything that would ease the guilt that’s chased him across system after system. 

“That's why I wanted him to train with Luke. I just never should have sent him away. That's when I lost him. That's when I lost you both.”

Han falters, unprepared to face the damage he caused her. 

“We both had to deal with it in our own way. I went back to the only thing I was ever good at.” 

They watch a group of soldier jog by. “We both did.” She says it with acceptance. Han knows he is not forgiven, but he knows she is no longer angry with him. 

“We lost our son, forever.” It’s the first time he’s said it aloud and as soon as the words leave his mouth he sees the fiery twenty-something in hair buns fresh with the loss of something precious and ready to change the world by force. 

“No.” She is silent for a moment, and Han has never had more hope put in a single word. “It was Snoke. He seduced our son to the dark side. But we can still save him. Me. You.” Leia has never doubted her own power, but Han has doubted his. 

“If Luke couldn't reach him, how could I?” Han is desperate for an explanation, for Leia to make his world make sense again. 

“Luke is a Jedi... you're his father. There's still light in him. I know it.” He could never doubt her. 

… 

Rey opens her eyes and realizes she is bound. She struggles for a moment, testing the strength of her restraints. She remembers how Unkar Plutt used to tie her wrist to a tent post at night after she tried to escape. 

She looks over and is startled to find the man in the mask standing over her. He must have been watching her. She is dazed, her mind is still foggy from whatever he had done to her. But her voice is clear. 

“Where am I?”

It stares at her for a moment and she shudders. There is something creeping across her skin as weightless and dark as a shadow. Somehow she knows it is him. 

“You’re my guest.” His voice is filtered by a mechanical warble. It’s soft, and she wonders if it’s an impression of being non-threatening. 

“Where are the others?” she demands. He seems more curious than anything else, but those types were always the most dangerous. They’d pick you apart like a dead Star Destroyer. 

“Where are the others?” she continues, not breaking eye contact with where his eyes would be. 

“You mean the murderers, traitors, and thieves you call friends?” he paused, and she was unflinching, “You'll be relieved to hear that I have no idea.” She was relieved. But curiosity was rising in her. She can almost see darkness flitting around him like a second skin. 

… 

“You still want to kill me.” He’s not upset about it. It’s merely an observation. He can feel the hatred in her rolling off in waves. It’s almost overpowering. She was looking at him with fear, yes. But curiosity as well. She was a scavenger, used to picking things apart and finding their use. He got the feeling that was how she was looking at him. 

“That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask,” her words were pure venom and made him pause. He considered her for a moment. Perhaps he could get the information from her without invading her mind. He reaches up and there is a mechanical hiss as he removes his mask. His dark hair falls and he shakes his head slightly to clear it from his eyes. 

“Tell me about the droid.” Their eyes are locked now. She meets his gaze without flinching, and he wonders who else she’s stared down like this. 

She inhales, “He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyper scan vindicator --”

“He's carrying a section of a navigational chart. We have the rest, recovered from archives of the Empire. We need the last piece. And somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. You. A scavenger…”

Now she is truly afraid. She recoils and her mouth twists. He pushes deeper at her weakness. 

“You know I can take whatever I want.” Trepidation flashes across her eyes. Kylo Ren moves closer, his hand rising toward her. She recoils but has nowhere to go. His gloves are centimeters from her face, almost touching but not quite. He freezes as their eyes meet once more and an energy passes between them. He almost recoils because he recognizes it, recognizes the power and the flow of light and dark. But it passes. And he moves on with his task. He pushes her mind into hers, trying, for some reason, to be gentle. But she’s resisting, trying to push him out. 

He sees a child held tightly by an obese creature, screaming at a ship to come back. He sees that child being ordered and shoved into small places the adults can’t reach, pushed to climb great heights inside the dead husks of starships. He sees her trying to escape into the desert one night and being caught. The same fat creature ties her outside in the freezing desert. 

And when she’s grown too big to fit into the nooks and crannies, Plutt, for that was his name, releases her. She’s abandoned once again in endless sand, utterly alone. Still holding out hope for her parents’ return. 

“... You're so lonely... so afraid to leave…”

He sees her fending off the other scavengers, growing up alone and feral. Making a tiny home for herself. Always half starving, always afraid.

“At night, desperate to sleep... you imagine an ocean. I see it -- I see the island…”

Anger grew in him as he pushed harder to see snippets of the past days, “And Han Solo. You feel like he's the father you never had. He would've disappointed you.” 

His hand still almost on her face, and her eyes fierce through the agony

“Get out of my head,” she spits through grit teeth, tears streaming down her face. 

Kylo Ren leans closer, “I know you've seen the map. It's in there... and now you'll give it to me. Don't be afraid…” The energy rose between them again, and the last words slipped out before he could stop them “I feel it too.” 

“I’m not giving you anything.” Her voice is deadly and every muscle in her body is tense and shaking. 

He can’t help the quirk of a smile that shames his lips. “We’ll see.”

He pushes one last time and is stopped short by a barrier. He pries around it, prodding and searching for a weakness. She meets his gaze and he can tell she knows she’s stopped him. 

Suddenly their roles are reversed and she has rushed forward, pushing into his mind like an ice pick. He can’t pull away and for a moment she has him locked in her own grasp. 

“You...you’re afraid….that you will never be as strong as Darth Vader!” Her words are triumphant and he manages to rip himself away. He feels raw and wounded, breath coming in uneven bursts. 

Rey is released, and she breathes deeply, keeping her eyes locked on him as he leaves. 

… 

Rey sits there panting for a moment afterward, letting her eyes close. She tries to piece together the images she saw--a burning building like the one in her vision, an old man standing over Kylo Ren--but all she had were pieces. A young Han solo and a beautiful woman with long brown hair that had to be Leia. 

She could feel the power deep inside her, aching to get out. She was nearly trembling with it. She had heard the legends of the Jedi, and of Luke and the Empire. If all of that is real--if Kylo Ren and Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker were all real like Han said--could she have the force?

It was her only hope.  
… 

Finn has never had this many eyes on him, listening to what he was saying. He knew he wasn’t being fully honest, that he was only a janitor. But the information he gave was correct and they only thing he cared about was getting to Rey. If that hurts the first order and helped the resistance, he was all for it. But Rey was his first priority. 

… 

Leia can barely stand to watch Han pack up the Falcon. She’s having flashbacks to his trips, remembering how, after Ben left, they had been more and more frequent, lasted longer and longer. Until one day he just didn’t come back. 

But she puts on a gruff smile and says “No matter how much we fought, I've always hated watching you leave.”

Han looks at her and there’s tenderness in his eyes. “That's why I did it. So you'd miss me. She laughs, moves up close to him. 

“I did miss you.” She sighs, wrapping her arms around herself. 

He looks at her, and says sweetly, out of the blue “It wasn't all bad, was it? Huh? Some of it was...good.”

Leia smiles just as sweetly. “Pretty good.” 

Han looked around and back at her, “Some things never change.” 

Leia laughs, “True. You still drive me crazy.” She’s attempting to lighten the mood but they both know he might not come back. They both know that she and the entire system could be gone before he does. Han places his hands on her shoulders. It could be thirty years ago, she thinks. It felt like not a day had gone by. They pull each other tight, holding for dear life. 

“If you see our son,” Leia says quietly, “Bring him home.”

Han pulls away and nods. They look into each other’s eyes. 

“I know,” he murmurs. And then he’s gone again. 

… 

Han swears if he makes it back alive, that’s the last time he’s leaving her ever again. 

… 

Kylo Ren freezes in the middle of giving an order. He should have known they would come to try and get the girl. He should have known it would be, “Han Solo,” the name sounds foreign on his tongue. 

… 

Han would slap Finn if he hadn’t done stupider things to impress a girl. Sanitation, of course he was just sanitation. 

When they did finally find Rey, nobody was more relieved than Han

…  
Rey has spent her entire life climbing inside ships. This one is no different. Her heart nearly stopped at a noise in the hallway, and she raised her rifle. 

“Finn,” she breathes and he throws his arms around her into the tightest hug she’s ever experienced in her whole life. She never wants to let go. 

“Are you alright?” Han asks, looking her over. 

Rey nods, still clinging to Finn, “Yeah.”

Han nods in return, but his gruff eyes are soft. “Good.”

Finn holds her upper arms, “What happened -- did he hurt you?” 

She interrupts him with a question of her own, “Finn, What are you doing here?!”

“We came back for you.” He says it as if it was the most obvious and easiest thing in the world. She is speechless, tears filling her eyes despite herself. 

Chewie lets out a small rolling roar and nods towards the former Stormtrooper. 

“What'd he say?” Finn asks, looking between Rey and the Wookie. 

Rey doesn’t know what to say, so she shrugs, smiling “That it was your idea...Thank you.” 

Finn smiles, and she feels safe for the first time in… she can’t remember how long.

“How did you get away?” he asked. 

“I can't explain it. And you wouldn't believe it--it was like mind control-” 

Han looks startled, but he settles his face back into his usual expression, “Escape now. Hug later.”

…  
It was the first time Han had really gotten a chance to see his son. Han remembered what Vader looked like. The black cape, the helmet. Every detail was burned into his brain like a wound. And looking at his son dressed all in black regalia, just like Vader, Han felt his own failure. It felt like he couldn’t breathe, and all he could see was a chubby-faced toddler held in Leia’s arms. He swallows and moved out onto the catwalk.

“Ben!” he calls out. His son’s head snaps to look at him. He wished he could see his face. Han glances behind him and sees that Chewie and the kids are watching. He takes another step forward, remembering Leia’s words. Bring our son home. He was going to do his damnedest not to fail again. 

“Han Solo. I've been waiting for this day for a long time.” Ben’s voice is garbled, but it’s softer than Vader’s. 

“Take off that mask. You don't need it.” Han isn’t sure he’s ready for what is underneath. Will his son be deformed beneath the mask? Will he still have Leia’s eyes? Han’s smile?

“What do you think you'll see if I do?” Ben’s head is cocked to the side. It’s a stance and defiance that is pure Leia and all Han wants to do is run but he takes another step forward. 

“The face of my son!” His voice echoes across the narrow space and Han is painfully aware of how high they are. 

Ben considers it and raises his hands to remove the mask. Dark hair falls down almost to his shoulders. Han can feel tears pushing at his eyes but he keeps his composure. Ben looked like them. He looked like Han and Leia both. This was the first time he had seen his own son as a man. 

“Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish, like his father. So I destroyed him,” Ben’s voice is soft, and his eyes are curious as he looks at his estranged father. 

“That's what Snoke wants you to believe but it's not true. My son is alive.” Han wants desperately to believe his own words. He wishes he had Leia’s conviction. He could use the conviction of a Skywalker right now. 

“No. The Supreme Leader is wise.” 

Han takes another step towards his son, “Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you -- you know it's true.” He can see the hesitation in Ben’s eyes. 

“It's too late.” His son’s eyes are stoic and dark, but his lips are trembling. 

“No, it's not. Leave here with me. Come home. We miss you.” Han cannot express how much he meant his words, how desperate he was to take his child away from this place. A parent never loses the desire to protect their children, no matter how far they strayed. 

Tears flood Ben’s eyes and Han wants nothing more than to pull him into his arms. Han can see the choice wavering in his son’s face, and suddenly he looks eight years old again. Looking at Han the same way he had when he and Leia had told him he was going to live with Luke. 

“I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain...I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?” 

Han hears his son's voice again, pained and vulnerable, and he takes another step forward. If he reached out he could touch Ben. “Yes. Anything,” Han says desperately. 

Ben slowly extends his gloved hand, reaching halfway out to his father. 

… 

Rey watches the scene below her, her knuckles white on the railing. Finn’s fingers are digging into her arm and she feels Chewie’s ragged, anxious breath on her neck. Kylo Ren is reaching out to Han. She can feel whatever energy has awakened inside her buzzing in the air, pulsing around the pair below. 

Kylo Ren’s dark eyes look up and lock on her’s. There’s a sudden rush into her mind. It’s not a thought, it’s not an image, it’s an understanding. She knows what’s going to happen before it does, and already she’s reaching out her hand, willing the force to her. 

Kylo Ren has his hand on Han’s shoulder, and Han’s face is curved around his son’s cheek. Kylo Ren shoves, hard.

Han falls, his head slamming on a piece of jutting metal, knocking him unconscious. Finn grabs the hand that is not reaching out to catch Han, and she feels an additional surge of power flow through her. Han stops, and like he’s on a rubber band, he snaps upwards and over the railing. Chewie manages to catch the older man, roaring wildly. Rey’s heart is pounding and she and Finn look at each other, understanding passing through their eyes. 

They run. 

…  
Han comes to as the Falcon is landing. His head feels like it’s splitting open. Rey’s hands are flying over the controls, and Chewie is holding Finn in his arms. Han can see the blood staining the Wookie’s fur. They’re both so busy they don’t notice that Han has woken up. As soon as the doors open Chewie bolted out. Han pushed himself onto his feet, feeling his age in every joint. Rey is finishing up the landing protocol. 

She jumps and nearly takes a swing at him before she realizes who it is. 

“Hey kid,” his voice is soft, “Are you okay?”

She stares up at him, eyes filling with tears. She’s looking at him like nobody has ever asked that before. 

He doesn’t say anything, he just helps her up and wraps an arm around her shoulders as they walk outside. Medics are swarming around Finn, rushing him into the base. Han looks out and sees Leia, and a sinking feeling settles into his chest. He had failed to bring their son back. 

But Leia isn’t looking at him. Leia’s eyes are on Rey, and there is a connection there that Han knows he will never understand. A silent communication passes between the two women. Leia walks forwards, through the cheering crowds, and holds Rey’s face in her hands. 

Han moves away and Leia wraps her arms tightly around Rey. Rey clings to her like a lost child. 

It is hours later, and the three of them are alone together. Rey is wrapped in a blanket, her hair removed from its normal buns and hanging around her face. She looks between Han and Leia and takes a breath. 

“He wasn’t going to kill you,” she looks at Han, “I don’t know how, but he looked at me and I knew...I knew I could catch you. And I knew that’s what he was asking me to do.”

Leia presses her hand to her chest, “There’s hope then.” Han feels like he’s hit his head again. 

“You need to get to Luke,” Leia continues, reaching to grasp Rey’s shoulder, “He’s the only one who can train you. He’s probably the only one that can get us out of this mess,” she snorts as if even after everything she can’t believe her brother is a legend. 

“I’m going with you,” Han says immediately. He has a few choice words for his brother in law, and more questions about the Force than he can count. But beyond that, he can’t stomach the thought of sending Rey across the galaxy alone. 

Leia purses her lips, giving him a wry look, “I knew you wouldn’t stick around,” she sighs. 

He reaches out and takes her face in his hands, “I’m going to come back. And I’m bringing Luke.”

She presses her cheek into his palm, her eyes slipping closed. 

“I believe you.”

… 

Leia watches as Chewie does last minute checks of the Falcon growling every now and then at Han’s complaints. Rey stands beside her. She’s strong in the force, Leia can feel it humming around her. It’s light but so filled with chaos.

“We’re ready! Let’s go!” Han yells. Rey gives Leia a reassuring nod and walks off toward the Falcon. 

“Rey!” Leia calls out. Rey turns, surprised. “May the force be with you.” 

Rey grins, and Leia watches her only hope board the ship.


End file.
